Police in Negros and Panay are on red alert for a nationally coordinated transportation strike against the spiraling increase in fuel prices that begins today.

Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, Bacolod police director, yesterday said the police will practice maximum tolerance, but will not allow strikers to prevent vehicles still plying the streets from going about their business.

He also said trisikads will not be allowed to ply major streets, where they are prohibited from going, during the strike.

The United Negros Drivers Operators Center and the Federation of Bacolod City Drivers Associations are staging a two-day strike starting 5 a.m. today to 3 p.m. tomorrow in Negros Occidental, UNDOC secretary general Jessie Ortega said.

Although, Ceres Lines, the biggest bus company in the province is not joining the strike, Ortega said they expect 95 percent participation in the strike.

In Bacolod City the strikers are setting up rally centers at Libertad, Magsaysay, Burgos and Ramos streets where they will try to convince those still plying the streets to join them, Ortega said.

In Iloilo a one-day transportation strike is set today.

Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, Iloilo police director, said they will set up check points and field more policemen to ensure peace and order for the duration of the strike

Police will also assist local government units in helping ferry stranded commuters especially those coming from the interior towns going to Iloilo City.

The provincial government will field at least 10 dump trucks to ferry employees and commuters from the district plazas to the city proper, Dela Paz said in a telephone interview.

ILOILO AND AKLAN

Transport groups in Iloilo and Aklan led by the Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) will hold the transport strike today in protest of the continued increase of oil prices which have risen five times and up to P5 per liter this year.

CAPIZ STRIKE

The transport strike in Capiz led by the Hugpong Transport Capiz will be held tomorrow because the city is commemorating the anniversary of the declaration of Roxas City as a chartered city today. The transport groups and militant organizations will, however, hold a march rally today from the Albar Terminal to the city hall, Piston-Panay coordinator Edgar Salarda said.

The transport groups said oil prices have increased nine times this year totaling P5 per liter. The increase has resulted a drop in the income of  jeepney drivers from December to May 3 by P1,600 per month, according to a study of the the Hugpong Transport Alliance.

The groups are demanding the scrapping of taxes on oil products to cushion the impact of price increases in the world market and the scrapping of the Oil Deregulation Law which allows oil companies to set the local pump prices of oil products.

Salarda said the removal of the value added tax and excise taxes on oil products will lessen the impact of the sharp rise of oil prices in the world market which have reach a record high of $124 per barrel last week.

NAVARRA THANKED

The fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), meanwhile, lauded Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra for urging the people to join the scheduled nationwide transport strike.

“We express our deepest gratitude to Bishop Navarra for his politically and morally correct divine intervention. The Gospel for truth, justice and emancipation is well served to the people with this call for the public to join the people’s strike against unjust and exploitative oil price hikes,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in an e-mailed statement.

Navarra had urged the people in a pastoral letter to show their indignation over the oil price increase by joining the protest actions.*CPG/NPB

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